


Trust

by Jadeycakes99



Series: Autistic Castiel [19]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Autism, Brunch, Child Abuse, M/M, Psychology won, Siblings, naomi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 06:41:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4381244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadeycakes99/pseuds/Jadeycakes99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna has some news for Cas. Conflict continues in the Novak/Winchester household, and brunch happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SURVEY ANNOUNCEMENT: Thank you to all of you who participated in the survey, I loved all of your suggestions, and will hopefully be able to incorporate them somehow, that's my plan anyway, but for now, psychology won, (which I am psyched to write about-ha) with the help of- rottingsoulss of tumblr, and as always, my beta reader, talesfromthechickpea.

Castiel closed the front door behind himself quietly. It was quite late, but that tended to happen when he spent time with Meg. He kicked off his shoes and hung his coat before heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth. With clean teeth and an alcohol-induced good mood, he walked into the bedroom and saw Dean shuffling around under the covers. Cas smiled and changed out of his clothes.

“You're extremely appealing to me,” Cas said, as he flopped into bed next to his husband.

“I'm also sleeping,” Dean muttered, hitting his pillow for emphasis.

“Yes, but you are so appealing,” Cas said, leaning in to kiss his husband's neck. Dean rolled over before sitting up and turning on the light. He blinked owlishly and rubbed his eyes as they adjusted.

“I take it you had fun with Meg.” 

Cas maneuvered closer to Dean. “Yes,” he mumbled against Dean's neck. “She left me for a man and told me I should do the same.” 

Dean snorted. Cas paused and went back to his husband's neck. “I'm assuming she meant you.” 

Dean grinned. “At least neither of us have to get up tomorrow,” he said as Castiel started to tug off Dean’s shirt. 

Cas hummed against Dean’s stomach. “Yes, we do,” he argued, nudging Dean back against the pillows.

“You don’t have to work. I don’t have my life together yet. We can sleep in,” Dean protested as he lay back, smiling.

“Uh-uh, Anna's coming tomorrow,” Cas said, looking up.

“What?”

“I said, ‘Anna's coming tomorrow.’” Dean sat up and pulled his shirt back down.

“Coming where?”

“To our apartment,” Cas replied, confused as to why Dean had sat up.

“Are you kidding? Why didn't you tell me?” Dean asked, pulling away.

“It never came up.”

“This is one of the things you should tell me, Cas.”

“You never care when Meg comes over.”

“Whatever.” Dean yawned. “We'll talk about this when you're sober,” Dean said turning the light back off and rolling on his side. 

Castiel lay there, confused, before following suit. 

#

Dean woke up to the doorbell ringing. It took a minute to register that Anna was coming…today.

“Shit.” He gently shook Cas awake. “Your sister is here.” He pushed the blanket off, quietly praying Sam wasn’t home.

“Which sister?” Cas winced as he sat up.

“Anna,” Dean replied grabbing a shirt.

“Coffee?”

“I’ll get the door. You make coffee.” Dean rushed to the door, but he could still hear Cas’s groan as he climbed out of bed.

“Hey,” Dean said, as he gestured for her to come inside.

“Hey. Did you just wake up? Is this a bad time?” she asked, hesitantly walking in.

“No, we’re good. Cas is making coffee, if you want some.”

“Oh, sure. Um, I don’t want to be too long. I have to talk to Castiel, you, and Sam.” 

Dean was too tired to be this suspicious. He had been up late waiting for Cas to come home. He’d just fallen asleep when he’d been woken up against his will, only to fall back asleep frustrated. Now, not only was there a surprise visitor, but the surprise visitor evidently had ulterior motives.

“I’ll go see if Sam’s here. Kitchen’s right through there,” he said, pointing down the short hallway. Anna nodded and headed toward the noise of the coffeemaker.

Dean popped into the bathroom for a painkiller before knocking on Sam’s door. He could already feel a headache coming on and he knew this was going to be a long morning—or afternoon, as his watch said.

As Anna entered the kitchen, she saw Cas’s back as he stood over the coffeemaker, waiting for it to brew.

“Hello Castiel,” Anna said, tugging on the sleeves of her sweater. 

He nodded to her. “Hello Anna.” He set his mug down before walking over to her and punching her in the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” she asked, frowning and rubbing her arm.

Castiel looked startled. _Perhaps that’s a Winchester thing,_ he thought.

“I apologize. I assumed it was a normal sibling gesture,” Cas said, looking to the floor before reaching back for his coffee.

“It's fine.” Silence reigned. It didn’t bother Cas, but Anna was clearly uncomfortable. “Mom said you haven't been answering her calls.” 

Castiel rolled his eyes. “I never answer our mother's calls.” 

Anna frowned and tugged on her sleeve again. “Well, she sent me over here to tell you something. Do you want to sit down?”

“I don't sit down until I've finished my first cup of coffee.”

“Yeah, but...” Anna looked at her brother's expectant face. “Right. Well, I came here to tell you that Grandma died.” There was another long awkward pause.

“Why are you telling me this? I met the woman twice, and once was before I was speaking.”

“Well, the funeral is on Friday.” 

Castiel paused for a minute. “Am I expected to attend?”

“Not if you don’t want to.”

“I don't,” Castiel replied, taking another long sip of his coffee.

“I figured. The thing is, we talked to the lawyers.” 

Castiel didn't respond. 

“Well, since grandma is dead, your trust fund is officially in your first of kin's control.” 

Castiel stared at her blankly for a minute.

“Dean's,” Castiel's face darkened. 

It wasn't that he minded Dean having access to the account. In fact, he already did. He was livid because his grandmother had never infringed on his spending or abused her control. He hardly thought Dean would, but the trust fund should've gone to Cas and Cas alone. 

He accepted that his siblings had full control when they turned twenty-five, and he would have to wait until she died to find out what would happen with his money, but she hadn't even gone to the wedding. She gave a man she’d never met access to Castiel's trust fund. His jaw clenched. 

“Hey, at least it didn't go to mom,” Anna added in a very forced, positive tone. 

Castiel set his mug down when he was no longer confident that the coffee wouldn't spill out.

“Do you have any cigarettes?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“I quit smoking,” she replied in an equally small voice.

“What’d I miss?” Dean asked when he entered the kitchen, followed by a very reluctant Sam.

“Why don’t you fill him in?” Anna asked hopefully. “You’ll have to go see Grandma’s lawyer for the details. Sam, can we talk?” 

Sam opened his mouth, but no words came out. He tried again. “Yeah, sure.” 

Anna looked expectantly at him. “Alone?” She asked hopefully.

“Right, of course. Do you wanna…?” He gestured to the hallway. She nodded, leaving her purse on the table. They both disappeared down the hallway.

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Dean asked, grabbing a mug. Castiel turned to focus his glare on his husband.

“I am wearing boxers.”

Dean snorted and shook his head, smiling.

“Did you know that I'm completely incompetent?” Cas said with a dark chuckle. 

“What are you talking about?” 

Cas covered his face with his hand. “You know, Naomi practically disowned her for dating Ruby.” 

“Doesn't she have, like, four gay kids?”

“ Apparently, it's different with boys.”

“Wait, what does this have to do with her?”

“Everything. I know she was the one who told Grandmother I can’t handle my own money.”

“Cas, I'm not following you. Could you please elaborate?” 

There was a long pause.

“I should sue. I could sue her for defamation or slander, right? We should ask Sam.” He walked past Dean who grabbed his shoulder. Cas practically jumped away.

“Sorry. Could you please tell me what's going on?”

“You are in control of one of our accounts, apparently.”

“Excuse me?” Dean asked. “Which one?”

“The big one,” Cas stated as if it were obvious.

“Oh. Oh!” Dean’s eyes lit with comprehension. “Cas, I can just sign it over to you, right?” Dean asked. “And then we can just not talk to your mother…like, ever.”

“I don’t care if you have control over the account or not, you already have access to it,” Cas dismissed. “I am furious that despite being a thirty-two-year-old adult, I have been deemed unfit to handle my own financial state, and it’s her fault. My grandmother wouldn’t have thought otherwise had it not been for her.”

“Hey, I’m not saying she isn’t awful. I’m just saying—” Dean paused. “You stand up for yourself and me, and you don’t take shit from anyone, and that’s great. It’s one of the many things I love about you, but you don’t need to attack this time. I despise her too, but sometimes you have to pick your battles.” 

Dean didn’t really mind Castiel picking a fight with Naomi, but things had been weird with them for a while. If Castiel were to see or talk to his mother, Dean thought things would go downhill. Cas and Dean were finally getting back to normal for almost the first time since the wedding.

Castiel fidgeted as he contemplated his options. “Fine. But, I’m still angry.”

“I am too. Do you want to go get brunch with Anna?” Castiel glared at him. 

Dean raised his hands in defense. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

“Fine. Brunch. If she starts treating me like a child, we are coming home.” Castiel was trying. He and Dean had been fighting, and just not speaking off and on for a couple of weeks. Cas didn’t like the tension between them, so he was trying to give more than he normally would have. 

“Oh. Well, I thought it could be just the two of you.” Dean suggested.

Cas shifted uncomfortably. “We haven’t spent much alone time together.”

“That’s why I thought—I mean, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.” 

Castiel paused for a moment, giving himself a moment to think it through.

“Okay. I’ll do it. And you can spend the morning not procrastinating and figuring out what you want to do,” Castiel replied. Dean had barely left the house recently, unless Sam or Charlie dragged him out. Dean seemed to prefer sitting around and moping. 

Dean grinned. “Deal.” 

They both walked to the living room where Sam and Anna were turned away from each other and seemingly entranced with their phones.

“Oh, hey!” Anna said, a little too enthusiastically, shoving her phone in her purse. “I didn’t want to bug you.” 

Sam looked up uncomfortably, his phone still lit up in his hand. Dean looked over to his husband, who didn’t look like he was about to speak.

“Cas wanted to know if you wanted to grab brunch.” 

Anna looked caught off guard. “Really?” 

Castiel glared at his husband. “Yes. I was.”

“Okay, there’s this really cute café I’ve been wanting to go to, if that’s all right with you?” She said, addressing Dean.

“A café would be lovely,” Castiel replied. Castiel didn’t move.

Ana shifted her weight foot-to-foot. “Would you like to go now?” she asked uncertainly.

“Sure,” Cas responded and headed to the door. 

He had the overwhelming feeling of a man being led to the gallows. He knew logically he had nothing to be afraid of, but that didn’t stop his hesitance. He let his fingernails dig into his thumb, but was careful to keep it out of Anna’s view. When she looked over, as they walked to the parking lot, Cas clenched his fists, grateful for the cigarettes he still had in his glove compartment. 

He was going to need them.


	2. Chapter 2

"What bears the closest resemblance to hangover food?" Castiel asked after they were seated across from each other. Anna looked up at her brother with surprise. 

"Oh, I don't know. Why? Did you have a night out?" she asked with a joking smile.

"Yes, and I drank amply, and am still fairly nauseous," Cas replied, as he perused the menu.

"Oh," Anna replied. Silence fell heavily over the table. The service was a bit slow and Anna wished she had water to sip, anything to alleviate the awkwardness. 

"Do you enjoy coffee?" Castiel asked. Despite not being the best "people person," even Cas recognized this as a pathetic attempt and conversation.

"Yeah." Anna smiled, but then her brow furrowed. "Actually, I'm more of a tea person. I was just trying to keep the conversation going. I was going to ask you if you liked coffee too, but you were practically guzzling it at your place. I'm sorry. I'm an awful person." She covered her face with her hands. 

Castiel looked at her with a puzzled expression for a moment before laughing. "I don't think lying about enjoying coffee makes you a terrible person." 

A snort of laughter broke through Anna’s hands before she lowered them. Their gazes met briefly across the table and the tension snapped as the siblings fell into a fit of giggles. They fought for composure as a waiter finally made his way to their table.

"Hi, I'm Joe. Sorry about the wait. Can I get you something to drink?" Unable to contain themselves, the giggles just got louder.

"Your name is Joe and you work in a coffee shop?" Anna asked. 

Joe looked at them both amusedly. "Do you need a minute?"

"I'll have an Earl Grey and she'll have a cappuccino," Castiel said, forcing his laughter to taper off until Anna started up again. 

"Anything else?" Joe asked politely. 

Anna caught her breath enough to say, "No, thank you, and sorry."

Joe nodded and walked away as Cas and Anna wiped tears of laughter from their eyes.

"What were we saying?" Anna asked.

"You hate coffee and are therefore an awful person," Cas said, emitting one last chuckle.

"Oh, that." Anna tugged at the sleeve of her sweater. "That's not why I said that last part,” she said hesitatingly. "You left when I was fifteen. Mom didn't get out of bed for a month. Michael told me you’d been sent somewhere. Gabriel wouldn't even talk to me. And Lucifer, well, you know Lucifer." 

Castiel tried to find an appropriate response. "I still fail to see how that makes you an awful person."

"Because of our family I thought you were crazy or criminally insane or something."

Cas clenched his fist under the table. "Do you still think that?"

"No!" she said quickly. "You're much more….Oh, I don't know, normal, I guess? Just, different than I was expecting." 

Cas nodded, unsure what to say. They sat for a moment, quiet but comfortable, until their drinks arrived and they traded mugs. 

"I did get arrested for disorderly conduct when I was nineteen," Cas said before taking a sip of his cappuccino. 

Anna looked up at him in surprise. 

Cas continued, "I pissed in a fountain after getting drunk with my best friend, her boyfriend, and my girlfriend. I don't know if you would call that criminally insane."

"No," she said quietly. "I wouldn't." Anna went about fixing her tea for a moment. "Why did you leave though?" she asked carefully. 

Castiel looked for the words.

"I'm autistic," he said, not without some difficulty. "Mom used that as an excuse to slap me, burn me, strap me to a chair, force medication after medication down my throat, and drag me to awful luncheons where her friends would gawk at me and fawn over how brave she was for raising me. She's obviously the one who convinced Grandmother that I can't handle myself. Not to mention how she treated you. I'm surprised you still speak to her."

Anna looked horrified. "How didn’t I know any of this?" she asked, just barely above a whisper. 

She didn’t want to believe it. Her brother spoke as if they were discussing the weather. She tried to think back; there had to have been signs. The biggest sign was probably how little she saw of him growing up. If she ever did anything wrong, and she did, Michael would always ask if she wanted to end up like Castiel. 

It had taken her forever to get herself out of the mindset that Castiel is bad and Michael is perfect. She harbored that complex until she realized just how much she hated her mother. Gabriel had offered to come down to relay the news, but the hatred in her gut had sparked curiosity about her least-known brother, so she decided to spend some time with him. Between the wedding and their brunch, she’d spent far longer with him than she had in the previous fifteen years combined. The difference between what she found versus what her mother had described over the years was astonishing. 

Castiel was married. He was more than functioning—he was smart and even had a doctorate. There was no way that the person her mother had told her about could have achieved all of this. These realizations made her wonder what else she had missed.

Anna shivered in horror. She hadn’t known. She hadn’t even guessed. She pulled a tissue from her pocketbook and dabbed at her eyes, attempting to dissuade any more tears from falling. Hearing about the abuse was shocking, but Castiel just shrugged. 

"It was a big house," he said.

"I swear I didn't know. I would've, I mean, did Gabriel—or Michael—oh my God, I think I might throw up." 

Concerned, Castiel helpfully pointed out the sign for the restroom, which indicated they were just around the corner.

"No, I didn't mean…” Anna swallowed heavily. “Castiel, I'm so sorry." 

"For what?"

"For not doing anything."

"What could you have done?" he asked, perplexed. 

Anna brought their conversation to a halt, as she didn’t know how to answer him. She didn’t know what she could have done, only that someone should have done something. She shrugged, starring down into her half-full mug, unable to bring herself to drink the rest.

"I have to go. I…I have a thing. I’m sorry.” Anna looked up at her brother. “Do you think we could do this next weekend?" 

Cas smiled. "Of course. Goodbye Anna." 

She forced herself to smile back as she dug through her wallet quickly, trying to make sure her eyes didn't water.

"Bye Cas," she said as she threw cash on the table, including a generous tip for Joe. Castiel looked as if he were about to protest. "My treat," she said, cutting him off.

"Thank you," Castiel said. 

Anna moved abruptly, as if to hug him, but settled for a shoulder pat. She tucked her wallet into handbag before hurrying to her car to cry.

#

Castiel came home feeling happy. He’d added an extra-something for Joe and he’d made plans with Anna. He would eventually have to deal with the trust fund issue, but at least it would be in good hands. As soon as he opened the door, he was met with a glass of champagne and a kiss.

"Hello Dean," Castiel said.

"I figured out what I'm going to be when I grow up." Dean grinned. "I'm barely going to make a livable wage, but that's fine because my husband is about to be loaded." 

"What are you going to do?" Castiel asked, taking the champagne flute from Dean’s hand.

"I am going to be a behavior specialist." 

Castiel frowned. 

"I already registered for classes. I want to get a bachelor’s in psychology. I'm going to be a real professional, just like you." 

Dean leaned in to kiss his husband, but Cas turned his head away. Dean stepped back and looked at him in confusion. 

Castiel clenched his jaw, but pecked his lips. "I'm very proud of you. I had a nice talk with Anna. I'm going to go lay down for a bit." 

Dean frowned, tilting his head in confusion—a gesture he'd picked up from Cas.

“Celebrate with Sam,” Cas said, causing Dean’s frown to deepen before he could school his expression. 

Dean thought it was probably just Anna, and he idly wondered if she needed to be added to his “do not invite to social gatherings” list.

“Sam disappeared a few hours ago,” Dean said. “He’s been acting kinda strange. I don’t know if it’s this Ruby chick, but something has gotten into him.”

"Go celebrate with Charlie," Castiel suggested. 

Dean felt disappointment crawl into his gut, but he tried to hide it.

"Okay, I will. I don't think she has plans today," he said hesitantly.

"Good," Cas said. He pecked Dean on the cheek once again before walking into his quiet room and shutting the door behind himself. 

“Dean won’t give people nightmares,” he thought firmly.

Cas wasn’t happy with Dean’s choice of profession, but he could deal. Probably.


End file.
